(This story is pure fiction, born from a wild imagination. It is not based on any ancient texts or historical research.)
In the vast marshes of the South Sea, on the divine tree of Qingzhou, the first nine-tailed fox in the world was born on the tree's third branch. Her name was Xiaobai, and she was a genuine red fox.
Xiaobai always thought that, as the progenitor of the nine-tailed foxes, she must be blessed with good fortune. She was born over the sea, beneath a tree, and practiced fire magic, yet she wasn't killed by the water here, nor did she destroy the tree. Surely that was proof that fortune favored her.
But years later, looking back, all she wanted was to give her naive younger self a good slap.
Her life as a fox was not smooth sailing at all. In fact, it was a complete melodrama, so full of misfortune that even a black dog would blush.
She longed for immortality, yet came close to losing her life several times. First, the Heavenly Emperor threw her into the heavenly furnace used for refining pills. Then she suffered the torment of countless ghosts gnawing at her heart inside the Profound Mirror. Later, a catastrophe in the underworld nearly killed her outright. If a nine-tailed fox couldn't sever a tail to save her life, she would surely have been done for.
She longed for peace and happiness, but things never went her way. One by one, the people around her left, and she could never return to her old home. She was afraid of ghosts, yet became the King of Hell who commanded them all.
She longed for love, and for an eternity together, but it turned out she could have neither in this life. She was the Fifth Hall King of Hell, one of the Ten Kings of the Underworld, while the one she loved was a god regarded by every deity and Buddha as utterly untouched by mortal concerns: the God of Fire, commander of war. In the end, their paths could never meet.
But he would not let her give up. He would use his life to show her that once you have love, you yearn to be together for all eternity. And with his life, he won them that eternity.
When the phoenix rises from the ashes, she can finally say: I waited for your return without regret.
Note:
The current planned order of the Nonhuman series is:
Nonhuman, Prequel: Lotus of Bone Memories, Nanyi and Xiucheng
Nonhuman, Prequel: Crossing the Long Song, Changqin and Qianyu
Nonhuman, Prequel: The Dream Brush Rests, Yunmeng and Lianmo
Nonhuman, Main Story: When the Phoenix Returns, Baigui and Chaowu
Nonhuman, Sequel: Gazing at the Mystic Stars, Suqing and Xuanyao (BL)
Nonhuman, Sequel: Sacrifice to the Dusty Waves, Jiang Ting and Shen Wei (BL)
Nonhuman, Sequel: Years Without End, Ji Ling and Wujiang (BL)
Nonhuman, Sequel: Late Maple Leaves, Liu Yu and Chongzhao
Nonhuman, Sequel: Song of the Azure Sea, Ling Xiaoniao and Jifeng
Nonhuman, Sequel: A Thousand Lives Tied, Tonglu and Ji Shaozhou
Nonhuman, Sequel: Enduring Honeysuckle, Huaying and Suihan
Theme: As long as we're together, we can overturn the whole world.
